Changes
One person is leaving while another position is filled
Over the last couple of decades we were told how stable U.S. Policy towards Africa was in a bipartisan manner. Some of the changes were nuanced during that time and didn't have wide arcs as we have seen during the Trump-Biden era.
A fair criticism of the second Trump term is that Africa currently is not a priority. The current spokesman on African Affairs for the State Department Tony Fitrell a 30 year career diplomat has told colleagues that he will be leaving the State Department in mid-July. Mr. Fitrell was seen as the most experienced Africa hand in the Administration. His leaving is expected to leave a void. Deputy Assistant Secretary Jonathan Pratt is expected to take over after Mr. Fitrell leaves.
On the day when the announcement of his departure was announced, Mr. Fitrell was speaking at the Atlantic Council promoting a report on the proposed Minerals deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Should we expect to see a Peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda finalized within the next few weeks?
However one challenge will remain. Although there has been no official announcement from the White House yet, plans are calling for President Trump to host a African Leadership Summit on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly this fall in New York. There are concerns that the retirement of Mr. Fitrell could have a negative effect on the proposed summit.
While there is a pending departure from the State Department Africa team, The Pentagon has moved in the opposite direction and has announced a hire.
Bryan J Ellis has been named as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Africa. His portfolio will cover military cooperation between Washington and its African partners. Basically the Assistant Secretary will be overseeing the foreign military sales program to Africa.
Prior to this assignment Mr Ellis was the Chief of Staff of the National and Compartmented Programs Office within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security from 2023 to 2025 when he started this new assignment.
At this time there has not been any major announcements regarding U.S. Arms sales to Africa so far. However, with the planned Africa Leaders Summit this fall in New York could we expect a somewhat bombastic announcement on Truth Social of a huge deal? It would also lead into the thought that the current strategy towards Africa is transactional at best. That also presents poor optics as well to both allies and adversaries.